AIA Group Ltd Raises Position in Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC)

AIA Group Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,881 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Marsh & McLennan Companies were worth $4,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Marsh & McLennan Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $214.00 to $210.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Marsh & McLennan Companies from $212.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Marsh & McLennan Companies from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Marsh & McLennan Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $281.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Marsh & McLennan Companies from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.41.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:MMC opened at $242.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $119.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.95. Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.17 and a 1-year high of $243.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $229.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.08.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.12. Marsh & McLennan Companies had a return on equity of 32.60% and a net margin of 16.60%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.815 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $3.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Marsh & McLennan Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Marsh & McLennan Companies

In related news, VP Stacy Mills sold 1,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.97, for a total transaction of $309,455.49. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,817.31. This trade represents a 31.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nicholas Mark Studer sold 49,390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.16, for a total value of $11,367,602.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 28,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,520,202.64. This represents a 63.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 57,828 shares of company stock worth $13,350,279. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Marsh & McLennan Companies

Marsh & McLennan Cos., Inc is a professional services firm, which engages in offering clients advice and solutions in risk, strategy, and people. It operates through the Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting segments. The Risk and Insurance Services segment is involved in risk management activities, as well as insurance and reinsurance broking and services.